A 17-year-old Fair Haven High School student is facing criminal charges for sexually assaulting one teenage girl and assaulting another.

Robert W. Richardson, of Castleton, pleaded innocent in Rutland criminal court this month to a felony charge of sexually assaulting a victim under the age of 16 and a misdemeanor count of domestic assault against another girl.

Richardson, who appeared in court on citations, remains free on court ordered conditions that include that he have no unsupervised contact with females under the age of 16 and that he abide by all restrictions placed on him by the FHUHS principal.

In affidavits written by Fair Haven Police and an investigator with the Special Investigation Unit in Rutland, which handles sex crimes, police say Richardson sexually assaulted one girl last summer and both verbally and physically abused another during the fall.

One of the girls told police that Richardson referred to her as his “property” and he could do with her what he wanted.

If convicted of both charges, Richardson faces up to 21 years in jail.